The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

After reading Eleanor Oliphant, I was reminded of this favorite read by Mark Haddon. If I remember correctly, I read it in two nights and, like Eleanor, this novel is told in the first person by Christopher, a high functioning autistic teen in Britain. (actually its called Asperger’s Syndrome or high-functioning autism).

The book starts on the night that Christopher finds the neighborhood dog, Wellington, dead on Mrs. Shears front lawn, an event that he is later blamed and questioned about. He determines that he has to find out who murdered Wellington and the life that he thought he knew and was comfortable with swiftly begins to unravel.

Christopher has been protected and raised by his calming father following his mother’s apparent death, but he will now be pushed out of his comfort zone, and onto an seemingly impossible journey. He rides buses, ventures into crowded places, all while unabashedly always telling the truth.

People say that you always have to tell the truth. But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell old people that they are old and you are not allowed to tell people if they smell funny or if a grown-up has made a fart. And you are not allowed to say, “I don’t like you,” unless that person has been horrible to you.

You’ll chuckle as Christopher tries to solve the murder of Wellington. His favorite detective is Sherlock Holmes so he knows the difference between a real clue and a red herring. He uses his superior skills of analysis to matter-of-factually investigate the crime, while he vividly describes how he goes about the world and the level of detail that he observes. One of my favorite and most memorial moment is when Christopher explains how seeing five red cars equals a really good day, a little quirk I picked up myself during my long commutes to work.

The book isn’t really a mystery about the death of a dog, it’s more about the amusing and insightful perceptions — as Christopher shows us how he doesn’t understand some things, like facial expressions, but is brilliant at turning everyday problems into mathematical solutions – you see math is his favorite thing, But Mr. Haddon doesn’t just tell us that Christopher is intelligent and scientifically talented, he shows us, by having him elegantly rendering beautiful and well-known ideas of mathematics and physics.

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them

Christopher uses logic, intellect and most of all, courage to solve two mysteries and find his way in a confusing and sometimes overwhelming world. Yes, I said two mysteries, the other is finding his mother who he was lead to believe had died – but I won’t say any more.

The reader encounters British figures of speech, like “losing one’s rag” (losing one’s temper), or “having a pig of a day,”(a difficult day) or “take-away chips.” (French Fries). Such metaphors confuse Christopher because he sees the world as black and white, facts and lies. His brain works in precise terms, like “I stepped back two meters” or he wore “brown shoes that have approximately 60 tiny circular holes in each of them.

Mr. Haddon brilliantly captures the mindset and ideas of an individual with autism and expresses it in a way readers can relate to. His point of view makes autism real as you see every part of the world through Christopher’s eyes — which is just magic.

What I loved about The Curious Incident is that it also illuminates how very different and yet beautiful human mindsets can be. Whereas some focus on feelings, others enjoy literature, and still others find comfort in numbers and facts, things that are measurable — like Christopher. The novel doesn’t flinch from also revealing the inescapable cage a handicapped child and his parents must endure, finding little help except for whatever resources they can find within themselves and if lucky, in the community.

A Curious Incident is many things – at once simple– and yet deep — it is often hilarious and at the same time a little sad as well. But mostly, it is a magical and fascinating read which I highly recommend.

I want to close this post with a thank you to Angela Lansbury who died yesterday at 96.

Highly acclaimed for her works on stage and film, I have to send out my personal gratitude for the Murder She Wrote series.

Not only did I never miss an episode when it was first airing, I now secretly indulge in late night re-runs all over again.

Without calling attention to herself, during the run of this series, Ms. Lansbury made it a practice to hire guest actors who were older and not working as much. This allowed them to earn the union points they needed to have insurance and pensions.